


When Madness Came for Me

by Arcadias_Fire



Series: Of Kings and Consorts [4]
Category: British Actor RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Blow Jobs, Enthusiastic Consent, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Feels, First Kiss, First Time, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Infinity Gems, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Magic, Multiverse, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Pining, Power Dynamics, Sex Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-19 08:47:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16531301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcadias_Fire/pseuds/Arcadias_Fire
Summary: Loki, former king of Midgard and Asgard has spent the last few years on a quest for vengeance. The Titan is dead, so now what? Loki will go on a search for... himself.***“We're in a unique situation.”“More than one, I suspect.”“Likely, though in an infinite multiverse…”“Shush, don't bring up the multiverse during afterglow.”Loki chuckled. “As you wish.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE NOTE THIS WORK IS PART 4 OF A 4 PART SERIES**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> This is a direct sequel to "The Madness of King Loki" and assumes that you've read at least that, and preferably all three of the other works in this series.

 

Loki had unfortunately discovered that murder was supremely unsatisfying. Once you killed someone, they stayed dead. 

 

Most of the time. 

 

Unless they were him, then all bets were off. So far Loki had refrained from killing himself - or  _ failed _ to kill himself, thought that had been a very long time ago - so it didn’t come up often. Last time he’d encountered himself, he’d tried to kill that other incarnation, but eventually he decided that it wasn’t worth the effort. 

 

That was a lie. 

 

It was a lie he told himself, but still a lie. 

 

Loki hadn’t killed that other incarnation of himself because that self was… happy. So many versions of Loki were miserable. Or dead. One or the other. Sometimes both. Not that Loki  _ knew _ that when he decided not to kill the Other, but since then, he’d learned that most Lokis were absolutely miserable. 

 

The ones that weren’t… well they generally had lover who made life worth living. A few of them were still with Thor, strangely happy as brother co-consorts of New Asgard. Many had found love among the humans of their native universes. The sheer number of Loki’s who had somehow wormed their way into Anthony Stark’s bed was staggering. 

 

Loki had a “been there, done that” attitude towards Stark, to borrow a human saying. He’d kept Stark as a pet for a couple of years, and that was enough of that. He just wasn’t as interesting while he was being controlled, and now this version of Stark hated Loki with a nearly unrivaled passion. 

 

Best not to dwell. 

 

Honestly, there was nobody in his native universe who could live up to Loki’s standards. Not even himself. Not that he’d done that. It was tempting, but… There was a good chance that the universe might destroy itself if he touched another Loki from his own universe. That level of destruction wasn’t worth the opportunity to have sex with a younger version of himself. 

 

It was a close thing though. 

 

Loki had never denied that he was narcissistic. 

 

However, he was at a bit of a loose end now. As the bearer of five Infinity Stones Loki was the single most powerful being in the universe. He’d hunted Thanos down and killed him in a spectacular fashion, scattering the Titan’s remains across the stars. That had been great fun, but now… What did he do now? Ruling the universe was certainly an option, but… Would that really be any better than ruling Midgard? Alone? 

 

Alone. 

 

It had been years since his consort’s death. A murder he had decided was better off not avenged. He’d spared the Other and the Walker, despite the blood on their hands, because they had what Loki did not. 

 

Each other. 

 

Once, just once, his consort had spoken to him from beyond the grave. It might have been just a vision brought by the Aether, but the Reality Stone warped the universe. It might have been him, or it might not. Perhaps… just perhaps he could see him again? 

 

Loki summoned the Aether from his body to form the Stone. A deep crimson glow, so small, yet so powerful. For a moment, he could make reality into whatever he wanted. To see his face again… 

 

“Darling.” 

 

Loki looked up. He hadn't activated the Stone. Or had he? 

 

“My love?” 

 

The shade of his dead lover shrugged. “Of a sort.” 

 

Loki bit his lip and reached out, though he didn’t try and touch. “What do you mean?” 

 

“It’s… complicated.” 

 

The god laughed. “That sounds like something I would say.”

 

The shade gave Loki one of his own smiles. “I know.” 

 

Despite the tears in his eyes, Loki laughed. “I miss you terribly, my dearest.” 

 

“I know that too.” The ghost reached out and brushed his fingers over Loki’s cheekbone. “Fate has been very cruel to us.” 

 

He sighed and nodded. Leaned into the caress, only barely felt on his skin. “I would join you, if I could.” 

 

“You will, darling, but not just yet. We’re waiting for you, but your story isn’t over. You can find yourself again. Find me as well. You have the power to do anything.”

 

A tear slipped down Loki’s cheek. “Not anything.”

 

“No. I suppose not.” The shade of his dead king sighed. “You once sought me out in other worlds.”

 

“I did. But it wasn’t the same.”

 

“No. But it doesn’t need to be the same. There are others that are farther away. Other Toms that need you just as much as you need me.” 

 

Loki looked into his king’s beautiful crystal blue eyes. “Others?”

 

He nodded. “Others.” The shade leaned in and placed a cool kiss on Loki’s cheek. “You have a power that few have ever borne. Use it.” 

 

And he vanished. 

 

o0o

 

Flitting between dimensions was easy with the power at Loki’s fingertips, even though he only had five of the six Stones. The Soul Stone held a power he didn’t entirely understand, and at this point didn’t particularly want, even if he could have gotten it. However, it was very much on his mind, and perhaps that’s why he ended up where he did. 

 

He was certain this was Midgard, but the barren, rocky landscape with its carved stone stairs reminded him forcefully of Vormir. 

 

The black-clad figure sitting on those stairs reminded him forcefully of himself. 

 

He was dressed in Midgardian clothing, black jeans, black short sleeved shirt, heavy black boots. He was slim, far more slender than Loki, as though he’d never gotten quite enough to eat in his life. Long black hair spilled over his shoulders and face. The figure cradled something in his hands and his shoulders shook. 

 

Loki approached, trepidation in his heart. His own voice, weeping, echoed across the empty stone plane. 

 

When he was within a few yards, the slim incarnation looked up. Loki’s eyes went wide. He was so  _ young; _ only a few centuries or so into his lifespan. An adult by tradition, though not fully grown. Tears poured down his cheeks, his eyes reddened, as though this young god had wept for hours. Loki looked to his hands. Cradled in them was an amber colored gem. 

 

“How did you…” But Loki stopped speaking; he knew how to acquire the Soul Stone now. 

 

“I didn’t know. I didn’t  _ know.” _ The younger Loki’s voice was ragged. He bled anguish, hemorrhaged pain. “He just…” Another bout of weeping overcame him, the younger god bent at the waist, crying over the Stone. “He just… fell.” 

 

Loki’s heart broke. He hadn't realized that he still had enough left of his heart  _ to _ break, but break it did. He could sense the power of four Stones. Mind, Time, Space, and Soul were in the possession of this beautiful child. Seidr burned in his veins with a barely controlled fire. “Did he say anything before he fell?”

 

The young Loki hiccoughed. “He said… he said he loved me. That I was supposed to carry the Stones, not him. That this was the only way to…” He broke down into tears again. “He promised… he  _ promised _ he’d never leave me.” 

 

Loki knelt down in front of the younger version of himself, took the youth’s hands in his own and wrapped the youth’s slender fingers around the Stone. “He has never lied to you. Have faith.” 

 

The young god blinked away his tears and looked, really  _ looked _ at Loki. “Who are you?”

 

“I’m you.” 

 

“From the future?” 

 

“Not exactly.” 

 

“But…” 

 

“Listen to me. Even if your love is dead, he is with you still. He may only be a shade, but he still stands with you.” Loki wasn’t sure how he knew, but he was certain that he was right. “You must go on. You must defeat the Titan. It can be done.” 

 

“I can’t, not alone. I was so alone before he came into my life, and he…” He took a deep, sobbing breath. “He made my life worth living. He was my sun.” 

 

Loki wiped away one of the child’s tears with his thumb. “I understand. I do. But you can go on without him. If I can, so can you.” 

 

The young god shook his head and wept. Loki’s heart ached for this bereft lad, trapped between childhood and adulthood with the burden of so much power on his slim shoulders, his support gone. Loki pulled the child into a tight embrace. It’s what his king would have done, when he still held his compassion; before the world robbed him off part of his soul.

 

The youth clung to Loki, sobbed on his shoulder. The Stones in Loki’s possession resonated with the Stones in the child’s, singing to one another. Between the two of them, they held all six Stones. The three Stones they both possessed harmonized in the back of Loki’s mind. They weren’t quite the same, just as he was not the same as this child. This parallel world was different enough that the Stones weren’t compatible with one another. Loki couldn’t take this Soul Stone to complete his set, nor could he give his own Power and Reality Stones to the young god to complete his. 

 

“Listen to me. You can go on. Use your heartbreak, use your pain. It will make you stronger. Something precious was taken from you, but don’t let that stop you from living.” 

 

The young Loki nodded. “He wouldn’t want me to give up.” 

 

“No, he wouldn’t.” 

 

The younger Loki pulled away and looked him full in the face. “How do you do it? How do you face life without him?”

 

He looked down, then back up at this younger incarnation. “I… I take life one day at a time.” 

 

“And that’s enough?”

 

“It has to be.” 

 

The young Loki nodded. “I can do this.” 

 

The elder nodded. “You can.” 

 

The younger god got to his feet, and Loki stood as well. They were the same height, though the younger version was narrower in the hips and shoulders; not quite filled out. He didn’t have the build of a warrior, not even to the extent that Loki had at that age. Perhaps this version of himself had been allowed to devote more of his studies to magic? He was incredibly powerful. 

 

“Is… Does it get better?” 

 

Loki swallowed hard. “Easier. It gets… easier.” 

 

The younger incarnation nodded. “I’ll do what I have to do. If… if I can’t be with him, at least I can destroy the Titan. Keep our world safe.” 

 

“If I can do it, so can you.” 

 

The young Loki looked up, his pale eyes wide and full of tears. “You did it?”

 

“I did.” 

 

“Alright then. So can I.” 

 

Loki smiled, and the younger smiled back. “Good luck.” 

 

“You as well.” 

 

Loki drew on the Tesseract and teleported away. Out of that universe, to find another. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Loki visited hundreds of universes. In some, the local Loki had found happiness with Tom or some other mortal, though the latter was far less interesting to the god. In others, Loki was the first incarnation to set foot in the realm. He watched versions of himself, versions of Tom, versions of the two together.

 

He watched a pair fleeing the Titan with the Tesseract. Tom had been blinded by the Titan’s henchmen, and that Loki was unable to heal him. Loki stepped into their lives for a brief span, healed the mortal’s eyes, and fled their tears and thanks.

 

In another, he watched as Tom pleaded with his Loki, begged him not to return to his home universe. Broke down and told him that death waited on the ship, not welcome. Watched as the mortals schemed with the god to escape the Titan's wrath.

 

He saw universes that were so like the other films Tom had acted in so long ago, that they must be the same places. Loki wept as those incarnations lived, loved, and died. Over and over again.

 

_How many times must I watch you die?_

 

He fled those realms, sought out a new universe, a safe place. A realm much like his love’s, one where the actor called Tom Hiddleston had disappeared some years ago.

 

If he was dead already, Loki wouldn't have to see his pain. Wouldn't have to watch him die again.

 

Loki put the Stones away in his pocket dimension. He wouldn’t need them here.

 

He followed his instincts, a magnet pull that brought him to a mountain range he’d never been to before. A place left unexplored in his decades on Midgard, so it held no memories.

 

It was beautiful. Barely touched by mortal hands. After days of wandering, Loki came across a small complex of buildings, set into the trees so as to disrupt the lines of nature as little as possible. That was rare, in his experience. Humans wanted to leave their mark on the world and would do so every chance they got. So these wooden buildings set among huge trees were soothing, serene, and unexpected.

 

The god thought those buildings might indicate a temple or monastery of some kind, based on what he knew of the humans of his own realms. It held traces of seidr, more than the ambient hum that all worlds had. Magic of a sort was practiced here.

 

A young woman came out of one of the buildings. Her eyes went wide when she saw him. Loki hadn’t bothered to cloak himself in shadows, wrap the light around his form, or even hide his appearance with an illusion, so she saw him clearly. Loki still wore his mourning armor, solid black and unadorned. He likely made an odd sight to mortal eyes.

 

“Can I help you?” she asked. “Are you lost?”

 

Loki chuckled, mostly to himself. “Deep questions. I am lost, but I doubt that you can help me.”

 

Her eyes went even wider when he spoke, then she smiled. “It depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s directions back to town, that I can give you easily. If it is a route to yourself you seek, perhaps we can assist with that as well. If nothing else, we can offer you a meal and a place to sleep that’s safer than these woods.”

 

Loki inclined his head. “You are most generous. I accept the offer of hospitality, if given freely.”

 

She pressed her palms together and bowed. “The hospitality is given freely. You are welcome, guest.”

 

Loki smiled and walked towards the young woman. He wondered if she realized the oath they’d both sworn bound him to obey the rules of conduct of this place. Honestly, with the buzz of seidr that clung to these buildings, she might.

 

The god followed the mortal woman through a complex of wooden buildings to one that appeared to be a guest house. It was small but cozy, containing only a bed, a box at it’s foot, and a hearth. Loki hadn’t slept in days, nor had he eaten more than a handful of nuts and berries since coming to these mountains. Neither of these things would do him any harm - he’d gone for weeks without food or sleep before - but it was pleasant to have the opportunity to sleep safely and have proper food.

 

“We serve the evening meal in about an hour. You will hear a bell sound when it is time. The building I was in is our meeting place and dining hall.”

 

Loki gave the woman a small bow. “Thank you.”

 

She bowed in return and left him.

 

Loki settled onto the bed and reached out his senses. Many of the mortals here had a spark of seidr to them. Some held more than a spark. None of it felt like the magic he’d learned over the centuries, nor did it feel like the power of the mortal magicians he’d encountered before. It was… intriguing. Perhaps the magic was unique to this version of Midgard? It would explain why he was drawn to this place. Like called to like. And even though he didn’t recognize this type of magic, it was still identifiable as a cousin to his own.

 

In his decades as king of Midgard, Loki had never encountered a human magician who came to their power naturally. The only universe where he’d seen human magicians was the one he’d been born into. It would be interesting to see what these mortals did with their magic. And how they would accept him.

 

o0o

 

When the bell rang an hour later, Loki pulled himself up out of the trance he’d lain in. He joined the humans who drifted towards the hall. No one spoke. Their clothing was simple. Undyed cotton trousers and tunics, canvas shoes. His black leather stood out even more than usual here. Most had hair that came below the shoulders, men and women both, and the men all wore beards. It all had the air of a monastic order. Eyes rested on him and widened in surprise, but nobody asked him who he was or why he was there. Perhaps they were under a vow of silence? Or assumed he was there with permission.

 

The hall held a long table. The humans all sat, apparently at random. Loki caught sight of the woman who’d spoken to him before and raised an eyebrow at her when she made eye contact. She gestured to the table, and he sat in an empty place. The meal was served and eaten in silence. It was vegetarian, but high in protein despite that. The sort of diet a magician would need, assuming they ate no meat. Loki had come across a few orders like that over the years.

 

He received many curious looks, but still, no one spoke to him.

 

Once the meal was over, the people dispersed, returning to whatever task they’d left behind. An older woman approached him as he stood.

 

“You are welcome, traveller.”

 

Loki bowed. “Thank you.”

 

“What are your intentions?”

 

“I have none. I am travelling on my own. I came across this place and was invited to stay the night and partake of a meal. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

 

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. She was old by human standards, though lively enough. “You said you were lost.”

 

“I… I am. At the moment, I seek peace.”

 

She gave him a crooked smile. “That has not always been your way.”

 

Loki raised an eyebrow. “This is true. I have a great deal of blood on my hands. I’ve sought to cleanse it.”

 

“You seek to remove the red from you ledger?”

 

Loki started at the Widow’s words thrown back at him. “There is a great deal of red.”  

 

She nodded, as though this answered a question for her. “You may stay as long as you wish. You are bound by our rules of hospitality. Most do not speak unless they have something that needs to be said, I ask that you follow that edict as well.”

 

Loki bowed and the old woman bowed in return. The god returned to his small cabin and slept.

 

o0o

 

The morning came early. The sun arrived with birdsong, and a bell called all to the morning meal. Again, he joined them, eating in silence with the rest. He kept his eyes down, listened to the sounds of nature, felt the magic on his skin.

 

When the morning meal was over, most of the humans gathered together to one side of the hall, and sat in a ring around the older woman. The few that remained cleared away the dishes from the morning meal. Loki hesitated, then joined those who cleaned. They accepted his help with small smiles and nods of thanks. Wordlessly, they handed him things to dry. It was odd. He hadn’t done such a chore in centuries, but it felt right.

 

After they were done, the humans joined the ring. Loki went outside. He sat on the raised platform outside his temporary home, and listened. Birds sang. Rodents skittered. Insects hummed. Off in the distance something large moved through the trees. Likely a grazing herbivore of some kind, given the gait. It was very peaceful. He sat and listened and felt. When the bell rang again, Loki joined the humans for another meal, then returned to his solitary spot. When the bell rang for the evening meal, again, he joined them, then returned to his cabin to sleep.

 

The next morning, the pattern repeated itself. He joined the humans for meals, assisted with cleaning, but did not join them in their meditations. The god drifted, untethered, listened and felt and waited.

 

The morning of the third day, the old woman who appeared to be in charge approached him as the meal ended.

 

“You are welcome to join us, if you wish.” She waved a hand to the area where they sat to meditate.

 

“Am I?”

 

“You are.”

 

Loki bowed and joined them.

 

The next morning, he found a set of their plain cotton clothing outside his door. He changed into it, leaving his leathers behind. The clothes fit perfectly, down to the shoes.

 

A week passed. Then another. Occasionally Loki would go off on his own rather than joining the others in their meditation. He sat on a tree stump in the forest and listened.

 

The silence of the forest was profound, and not truly silent. Birds sang, insects hummed, grazers browsed. The sound of human footsteps was alien in this place. His feet made no noise, trained as he was, but it meant that when somebody approached him, he heard their feet long before he saw their form.

 

The feel of magic lay on the man who stood behind him, as strong as the old woman who ran this place, though his step was lighter through the dry leaves. Loki could feel eyes on his back, but did not turn to look. He bore the stranger’s scrutiny in silence.

 

“Loki.”

 

The god shot to his feet and turned. The sound of his name, yes, after so long it was startling. But the voice…

 

“Tom?”

 

His beautiful mortal, his hair long, beard, likewise. Clear blue eyes, the color of the sky. He wore the plain cotton of the order. His hands were folded in front of him. His hands… his hands were laced with scars. The mortal was older, notably so, though by only a few years by human reckoning. He stared at Loki as though he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

 

“I thought you were dead.” Tom’s voice cracked.

 

“I… you _are_ dead.”

 

“Am I?” He didn’t sound certain.

 

“My… my Tom is dead.”

 

“Ah.” The mortal looked away. “You’re from a different universe. You’re not my Loki.”

 

“I…” Loki looked at his feet. “No, I’m not.”

 

“You're not the other one I met either, are you?”

 

Loki shook his head. “I've never been to this realm before.”

 

“How… how did you find me?”

 

“I wasn't looking for you. I thought you dead in this world. I followed my instincts to this place, to the magic here.”

 

“Oh.” Tom rubbed the thumb of one hand against the palm of the other. It had the feel of an habitual gesture, though it wasn't one that Loki recognised. Likely the damaged appendages ached. The god was reminded of the Tom who had been blinded.

 

“What happened to your hands?”

 

“I… I smashed a window.”

 

Loki's eyebrows went up. “That's a great deal of damage for such an injury.”

 

“There may have been more than one window. And perhaps a mirror or two.” Tom gave him a small, twisted smile. “It was a prolonged smash.”

 

Loki swallowed hard and looked away. “I'm sorry.”

 

 _“You_ didn't leave me to go off and die.” His tone was casual, but full of pain.

 

The god winced. “I'm still sorry. I would save you any pain I could.”

 

“You said I was dead. How?”

 

“I… another version of me killed him.”

 

Tom let out a bark of laughter, ironic and humorless. “There are too many of us. Tell me, Loki-who-isn't-mine, how many different versions of the two of us have you seen?”

 

Loki looked away. “Thousands.”

 

“How many of us were together?”

 

“Not many. Dozens, perhaps.”

 

“Why do you think that is?”

 

“I don't know. Travel between realities is difficult. You and I are the same, so we shouldn't be together. It's a miracle that _any_ of us have found one another.”

 

“It doesn't feel like a miracle, it feels like a curse.” With that, Tom turned on his heel and left.

 

Loki sat back down on his tree stump and wept.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those who've read "Dream of Mirrors" may have recognized a few characters in this chapter. 
> 
> It gets better, I promise.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Loki didn't return to the compound that night. He stayed in the forest and listened to the creatures that called the darkness home. When dawn came, he returned to reclaim his armor and return the clothes he wore.

 

The old woman who was in charge sat on the stoop outside his cabin waiting for him.

 

“You didn't come to dinner last night.”

 

“No.”

 

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

 

Loki gave a mirthless laugh. “You knew when you invited me to stay that he was here.”

 

She nodded. “Of course. We told him you were here when you arrived, gave him the choice to see you or not.”

 

All those odd looks when he first arrived, they hadn't been because he was a stranger, they'd been because everyone _recognized_ him. “Well, he's seen me, and now I'm going so he doesn't have to see me again.”

 

“Is that what you want?”

 

Loki shook his head. “It doesn't matter what I want. All that matters is that I've invaded his peace. He deserves better than me.”

 

The old woman raised an eyebrow at him. “Did he tell you to go?”

 

The god paused. “Not in so many words, but his meaning was clear enough.”

 

“Was it?”

 

“I… He said that us being together was a curse. I’ve always thought it to be a blessing.”

 

“How much pain have you felt because of it?”

 

“So much. More pain that I thought possible. I mourned my love with blood and fire, but the decades we spent together were the happiest of my life. Despite the pain, despite the heartbreak. It was worth every second.” The child he’d seen with the Soul Stone’s words came back. “He was my sun.”

 

“What would you do to save him?”

 

Loki answered without hesitation. “Anything.”

 

She stood and dusted off her clothes. “Then stay.” She walked away.

 

Loki watched her as she disappeared into another building, his mouth hanging open.

 

He stayed.

 

Now he saw Tom at meals, in the meditation ring. They didn’t speak. As far as Loki could tell, Tom never even looked at him. Loki kept to himself. Occasionally he would still go off into the forest alone, but he always returned to the compound for meals, always slept in his cabin at night.

 

The summer turned to fall, and the nights grew frigid. The god didn’t feel it - he never noticed the cold - but the humans bundled up in layers of quilted cotton. He wore the coat they left for him, just so they wouldn’t ask. He wondered what they thought of him. The stranger with the black hair and pale skin, who never grew a beard, but never shaved. Who looked so much like their other brother, but never interacted with him, and rarely looked.

 

It didn’t really matter. They accepted him, treated him like all the rest. He shared in the work, participated in their workings.

 

And they did do magic here. Spells protected the compound. The focused attention of those who dwelled here was drained away into a pool below their meeting place. A reservoir of seidr. It kept everyone healthy; Loki had seen no sickness here. It kept them isolated. Kept them safe from the wild creatures who hunted the night, without the need for walls or fires.  

 

He contributed, like all the rest, though Loki’s own natural magics were far more powerful than any of the mortals, so he had plenty left for himself.

 

Fall fell into winter, and the snows came.

 

Loki helped clear the paths between buildings. Paths that became tunnels as the winter progressed. He used the subtle powers of his icy blood to strengthen those tunnels, make them sturdy and sound. Some days, he would climb out of the upper windows to stand in the sun. Feel the heat on his skin so that it didn’t turn blue with the ice.

 

Some days, Loki would gaze at Tom, see what fate had cheated him of. He ached with it at night, what he had lost. What was right in front of him, but he dare not touch. He watched this different, new incarnation of his love. Learned his ways. He never spoke again in Loki’s presence. Rubbed his hands as though they pained him, especially once the snows fell. Winced away from loud noises, never went out alone at night, never looked at his own reflection in the windows. There were no mirrors here.

 

Loki ached for him. An ache of desperate need which was never fully sated, no matter what he did alone at night. And an ache of sympathy for the mortal’s pain. It was a different kind of pain than his king’s had been. An ache of loss, yes, but the loss of a lover, not of a child. Loki didn’t know what had happened to this Tom, save that his Loki was gone. They might have been together for decades - as he and his king had been - or it might have been mere days. Whatever it had been, whatever had happened, it left the mortal scarred inside and out.

 

Every day was a stab of pain for Loki. Every day was a breath of sunshine, just to be in his mortal’s presence. Loki focused on the simplicity of life. The magic they spun together. Tried to set aside his own pain. Be what he could be for his mortal, even if it was to be nothing at all.

 

The season wore on. The nights grew longer, the days shorter. On the night of the winter solstice, Loki went out through the top of his cabin into the moonlight and icy cold air above. He let his skin turn blue. His eyes red. Felt the lines on his skin come to life. The tribal markings of his father’s people. Who’d abandoned him to his fate. A fate that made him a prince twice over. A king thrice. A failure more times than he could count.

 

He stood beneath Midgard’s moon and stars. Bathed in their silvery light on this, the longest night. Turned his face to the sky and simply was.

 

Midnight passed, and he returned to his cabin. To the warm fire that changed his skin from blue to pale. He held his hands to the flames and watched them change from blue to white, as once he’d seen his skin go from white to blue. The truth finally revealed. It had broken his mind, that truth. All at once, it had thrown everything he knew into disarray, and made it all make sense. It hadn’t just been the magic, his womanly ways, but his own blood that made him an outsider in Asgard’s halls.

 

His mortal had accepted him, whatever his form might be. Tom had known the truth of Loki’s birth before they ever met, and loved him still. If that had been all there was, the god would have loved the mortal, but there was more. So much more. Loki had known love in every conceivable way because of a single human who saw him for what he was.

 

Loki let his tears fall as he knelt by the fire. This was agony, but the old woman’s words kept him here. He could leave. He _should_ leave, but the fragile, paper-thin promise that his mortal might return to him kept Loki chained to this place like an anchor.

 

He crawled into his bed and tried to think of the night, not the beautiful, damaged human that slept so close. His bed only a few hundred yards from Loki’s. So close, yet infinitely far.

 

o0o

 

The winter was long, as it is in the mountains, but Loki kept track of the days. The longest night was easy. He knew the human’s calendar well enough to know the days as they fell. One day in particular was coming soon. Loki had gathered the seeds of a few flowering plants before the snows fell. Kept them in his cabin. When February rolled around, he brought the seeds to life, an easy bit of magic. One he could have done with the tiniest shreds of power. Flowers of blue and red and violet came to life under his fingers. The magic of life in the hands of one who had brought so much death.

 

For the first time in months, Loki pulled the light about his form like a cloak to become invisible to the human eye. Took his flowers and crept through the tunnels on silent feet. Found where his mortal slept and laid the flowers on his pillow, then crept away again.

 

He watched silently as his mortal went through the day. Birthdays weren’t celebrated here, nor any holiday. But Loki knew. The god saw his mortal’s expression change from one of dull routine to a smile. That beautiful, glorious smile. Loki had killed for that smile and would do so again, should it be asked of him. For a brief, glorious moment, Tom’s eyes met his across the room, and he smiled _at Loki._ The mortal knew that no one else here could make flowers bloom in the dead of winter. Knew that the god would remember the day of his birth. Knew that Loki had chosen to honor him silently with beauty and magic. And he _smiled._

 

Loki felt like the sun had come out inside his heart. Every day of suffering was worth the pain. Every night of silent longing was redeemed.

 

o0o

 

Spring came, as it does. The snows melted, leaving the paths a morass of mud and stones. The brothers and sisters of the order removed their shoes when coming into the buildings, leaving them outside to dry. The routine went on. Eat, meditate, eat, work, meditate, eat, sleep. Tom never looked at him again. That single smile kept him going, but as the weeks passed, Loki’s heart began to waver.

 

He began to notice things. There were couples among the group. Or at least those who shared a bed and the pleasures associated with that sharing on a regular basis. Some of these sharings were clearly exclusive. Others were not. A handful of the looks Loki received from both the men and women could have been interpreted as invitations, but he declined them all. None came from the man he wanted, so why bother? It was somewhat heartening to see that Tom wasn’t involved with anyone that Loki could see. The mortal didn’t receive those looks. Never went off with any of the others. Not everyone did. It seems as though these relationships were accepted, but not required. There were magics that required sexual contact, but none seemed to be practiced here.

 

He knew this place was strange for Midgard, but Loki had encountered groups very similar in other realms. Magicians who pooled their resources in a loose framework of cooperation without the trappings of religion or hierarchy. If there was any structure, it was tied to the seasons. The light waxed and waned, and with it, their days.  

 

The spring equinox dawned bright. The plants around the complex were coming to life again after the long dormancy of winter. The air was chill, but the snow at least was gone. Loki looked to the sky and basked in the sunshine. The twelve hours of light were followed by twelve hours of dark. The tipping point had passed, but still there was no change in his mortal’s behavior. Peace eluded Loki, no matter what he did.

 

The days grew warmer. The nights as well. The humans around him seemed cheered by the light and breath of new life. Loki found a small patch of blue flowers in the forest. Their petals were the color of Tom’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but love them. The god nurtured the tiny blooms, though such magics were not his natural forte. Still, such simple life was easy to manipulate. He coaxed and encouraged the flowers so that they covered the whole glade, not just a small patch of earth. They were a distraction from how his heart ached.

 

More and more, the god spent his time in the clearing. He still ate with the others, slept in his lonely cabin, but this scrap of land called him, and he poured his energies into it. He sank into the earth. At least here, his love had a tangible effect: the flowers the color of his beloved's eyes.

 

One day, he didn’t return for any of the meals. It hardly seemed worth the trouble. Instead, he sat in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by his flowers. They should have died by now, their petals shriveled, blooms faded and bowed, but Loki kept them alive by force of will and seidr.

 

Evening fell. Darkness approached. The days were long enough that the meals he missed were hours gone. But still, he sat.

 

Darkness fell, and the god bathed in the silver light of the moon and stars. The galaxy's road above. What should have been Yggdrasil, but instead was simply a pattern of distant stars. Loki stared at the sky and wondered why he was still here. He could go anywhere, but instead he lay on a patch of dirt on Midgard, the backwater of the galaxy, waiting for something to happen. The road wheeled above him. Insects crawled over his still form. Loki let his seidr bleed into the earth feeding the flowers around him, and wondered if that wasn’t the perfect metaphor for his life.

 

He must have fallen asleep, eventually. When Loki opened his eyes again, the sun was up. He blinked in the diffused light and tried to sit up. When he failed at such a simple task, Loki realized that he was covered in flowers. Their roots and vines and stalks and stems had grown over him in the night and bound him to the earth. They sapped his strength, pulling his energies into themselves. He was caught. Chained to the land as surely as if the flowers had made of dwarf star metal, not simple living matter. Loki couldn’t even move his head. The flowers had grown through his hair, interweaving green stem with black strand. His fingers bound in living, verdant thread. He was as trapped as though Mjolnir sat on his chest.

 

He laughed. Laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks. What a way to die. Bound to this miserable mudball of a planet by his own magic gone awry. Less than a mile from his only love, who wouldn’t even notice that he was gone.

 

It was only fitting. He’d once ruled Midgard, now Midgard ruled him.

 

Loki lay in the clearing and felt the flowers grow over him. A squirrel hopped up onto his chest and looked down at the god with beady black eyes. He looked back at it and wondered if the creature would gnaw on his corpse once he died. That would take _forever._ Likely months, assuming that some wild creature didn’t come along and rip his throat out. Simply dying of exposure would be agonizing weeks. What a miserable way to die.

 

Night fell again, and Loki slept.

  



	4. Chapter 4

 

When Loki woke again, the sun was high enough in the sky that it beat down on him as he lay in the center of the clearing. There were times when he wished he could shut his body down, but the spells he’d built into his form over the centuries would keep him alive for far far longer than an ordinary Asier, let alone a mortal. There was a decent chance that having his throat ripped out by some wild predator would only be temporary.

 

No one would miss him. No one would care.

 

This was a living Hel. Trapped in an eternity of slow starvation, dehydration, and sunburn. Too drained to move. To despondent to really try.

 

“Loki? Are you out here?”

 

He must be hallucinating. Nobody would look for him, let alone Tom. The mortal must be so relieved that Loki had vanished. He would finally be free of the specter of his dead lover.

 

“Loki?”

 

The god sighed. Stupid hallucination. “Go away, I’m trying to die in peace.” His voice came out a dry and dusty creak. When we the last time he spoke?

 

“Loki!” A few moments later, his hallucination had grown a visible form. Tom leaned over him, concern written over his beautiful face. “What happened?”

 

“I think… I think I put too much magic into this place. It appears to be trying to eat me.”

 

“You can't get up?”

 

“If I could, I wouldn't be here.”

 

“Let me try.” Tom pulled at the flowers on Loki's chest. They didn't budge. “They're like steel cables.”

 

“Too much magic. Just leave me. I know you're not real.”

 

The mortal looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. “I'm fairly certain that I’m real.”

 

“No,” Loki said with a laugh. “This version of your would be thanking the Norns for removing his curse. Well, perhaps not the Norns, but fate, or whatever Gods you worship.”

 

The mortal made a small sound of dismay. “No. No it's not like that. I'm sorry I ever gave you reason to think that I…” He dropped his head to his chest. “I don't want you to go, and I certainly don't want you to die.”

 

Loki closed his eyes. It had to be a lie. Likely one of his own devising. If the mortal cared about him at all, he would have come sooner. This was an hallucination. It had to be. “Please, just let me… You're not real.”

 

Gentle fingers brushed over Loki’s face. Caressed his cheekbone, his jaw. A hand cupped his cheek, warm and solid. It had been so long since anyone had touched him. In all the time he’d been in this place, the only hand he’d felt was his own. The last gentle, uncoerced touch he’d felt was the press of his king’s lips the instant before he died. Loki desperately wanted to lean into that touch, but he couldn’t move. Tears escaped, trailed down his tempes, through his hair, into the flowers below.

 

“Oh Loki, I’m so sorry.”

 

Loki tried to shake his head, but the flowers bound him to the ground. He let out a sob. “None of this your fault. I’m sorry I ever came here. Sorry that I interrupted your peace. I should have left when I realized you were here.”

 

“I…”

 

“Please, just let me go.”

 

“I can't.” Soft fingers ran through his hair. “I came here to try and learn to live again, to move on with my life. Before… before I was here, I was…” Tom took a deep shaking breath. “I was broken. I spent a little over a year in an institution. I’d gone mad and hurt myself very badly. I nearly died, so they locked me away. I can’t really blame them. I kept insisting that you were real, that I’d met you and then you were gone, and I felt so empty and alone, and there was so much _pain.”_ The mortal rubbed the back of his head, as though an ache still lingered there. “It was too much. I couldn’t... I couldn’t cope.”

 

Loki closed his eyes. It was the closest he could come to a nod. “I understand.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Yes. Even if I hadn’t suffered myself, I saw it happen. My… my Tom, he… We had a daughter. She was… she was killed. He blamed himself. Blamed me. It broke his spirit. There were days when he wouldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, but never left his bed. I couldn’t… I couldn’t mend…” Loki took a deep breath. “Over the decades, it became somewhat better, but he was never the same.”

 

“You had a child?”

 

“We did.”

 

“How…?”

 

“She was biologically his, but I adopted her.”

 

“Should I ask?”

 

Loki tried to shrug, but the flowers held him still. “It’s rather complicated. What matters is that she was so clever, so beautiful. Perfect. And she was murdered.”

 

Tom looked away, pain in his eyes. “How long ago?”

 

Loki thought for a moment. “Thirty-five years? I’ve travelled so much, but that sounds right.”

 

“And your… your Tom? When was he killed?”

 

“Four or five years ago.” Loki bit his lip to try and keep the tears back. It didn’t work.

 

“How old was he?” The mortal sounded puzzed.

 

“Nearly ninety.”

 

“But…”

 

“He didn’t age like a normal human. He appeared to be younger than you are now.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“We were together for half a century. I would have died with him if I could, but I had to avenge him.”

 

“And did you?”

 

Loki sighed. “No.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“I realized that he - that other Loki - had what I did not. That I couldn’t take the happiness that they had; that I had lost.” He looked up at the mortal. “So many of us are in pain. How could I take the happiness of one who’d found love?”

 

Tom smiled down at him. “I think I understand.” He ran his hands through Loki’s hair. The god felt seidr stirring against his scalp, felt the flowers fall away. “My Loki… he felt so guilty about what he’d done over the years. I think that’s why he went back. To try and help.” He sniffed. “Of course it was all for nothing.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“He… He came into my universe by accident.” The gentle seidr-filled fingers swept the remaining flowers from Loki’s hair. “We became friends and lovers, bound together, but then… he had a dream that made him go home. I hadn’t told him… I’d hinted, but I’d never said what happened to him in the films. He went back. Thanos must have killed him. I never saw him again.”

 

“I am sorry.”

 

Tom shook his head. “I should have told him.” The mortal’s hands ran over the stems that wrapped Loki’s neck, and they fell away. “I should have told him to take the Tesseract and run. I should have told him the truth, not just…” He squeezed his eyes shut and a tear trickled down his cheek.

 

“Listen to me. I have seen this dozens times, and it plays out differently in every iteration. If your Loki had stayed, the Titan might have come and taken you, destroyed your world. Or your Loki might have come home to you safe and well. There’s no point to second guessing yourself.”

 

“But…”

 

“You cannot change the past.”

 

Tom sighed and nodded. He ran a hand down Loki’s chest, and the god felt the flowers give way in the wake of the mortal’s magic.

 

Loki sat up and pulled away from the flowers. Now that his hands were free, it was easy to banish the rest. He curled his legs under him and looked down at the Loki-shaped hole in the bright blue blossoms.

 

“How appropriate.”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

Loki waved a hand. “This is an excellent metaphor for the disaster I’ve made of your life.” He hung his head. “I should go.”

 

“Please don’t.”

 

Loki looked at the mortal who sat beside him. “You wish for me to stay?”

 

Tom met his gaze evenly. “I do. I’ve… I’ve missed you so much.”

 

The god shook his head. “Not me, a different version of me. _”_

 

“I… I suppose you’re right.” He hung his head. “You’re not my lover.”

 

“Nor are you my husband.”

 

Tom’s head came up with a snap. “Husband?” 

 

Loki nodded.

 

“Oh.”

 

The god got to his feet. “I can’t go back to how it was. I can’t… I can’t look at you across the room and never speak. I can’t go back to ignoring one another. I would rather leave.”

 

Tom stood. He was only a step away. “I’m not asking you to do any of that.”

 

“No?”

 

“No. I want to get to know _this_ you.” He reached out and placed a hand on Loki’s neck. The centuries old gesture felt like a benediction. “Will you allow me that, Loki?”

 

He pressed into the mortal’s hand. “I would allow you anything.”

 

Tom raised an eyebrow. “Anything?”

 

Loki nodded. “Anything.”

 

Tom took a step closer. Loki could feel the mortal’s breath on his face, and held himself stock still. He desperately wanted to move closer, feel Tom's skin, taste his lips. But he didn’t have that right. He watched as Tom’s eyes wandered over his form. The god wondered how he compared to the mortal’s dead lover. If the half century of love and pain had added to his appearance in a notable way. His hair was likely different, but Loki made few cosmetic changes to himself, and aged slowly enough that it was barely noted by humans and their limited concept of time.

 

The hand on his neck slipped up into his hair. Loki’s eyes fluttered shut. It was bliss, that touch. A hand in the hair could go anywhere. It could tighten into a fist in exactly the right place for perfect control. It could slide through the strands, a soft caress. It could pull the head closer for a kiss. But it didn’t matter what Tom would do. Even if he did nothing, this touch was a breath of Valhalla.

 

“Loki?”

 

The god opened his eyes. “Yes?” Tom was so close. If either of them leaned forward, they would touch. Their lips would meet. Loki wanted that so desperately that he trembled with the effort of keeping himself away. Tom’s eyes swept over his face; focused on Loki’s mouth. Loki licked his lips. _Oh Norns, please let him kiss me…_

 

“May I…” Tom trailed off.

 

Loki spoke into the lingering silence. “You may do anything you wish.”

 

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

 

Loki thought he probably _did_ know, but... “It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “I cannot conceive of anything you might say that I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ to. Tell me to leave you, tell me to come to your bed. Tell me to lie for you, kill for you, move the stars and planets in the heavens. Bare my soul for your inspection, flay myself open for your scrutiny, serve at your pleasure. All of this, I would do without question.”

 

“Move the stars?”

 

“If you wanted.”

 

 _“Can_ you do that?”

 

“I would not offer were it not within my power.”

 

“How?”

 

 _Damn._ This was not going the way Loki hoped it would. He sighed and pulled the Aether out of his pocket dimension, crushing it into its Stone form when it tried to escape into its red/black miasma. He held it out on the palm of his hand. “I would not suggest touching it.”

 

Tom’s eyes went wide. “Is that…”

 

“The Aether, yes.”

 

“How did you get it?”

 

“I took it from its hiding place between worlds, before Jane had a chance to find it.”

 

Tom stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. “You have an Infinity Stone?”

 

Loki shook his head. “I have five.”

 

The mortal staggered back a step. “Five?”

 

“All but the Soul Stone.”

 

“But… how?”

 

Loki sighed and vanished the Aether back to its place. “I’d seen all of the films, so used that roadmap to find the Stones in my native universe. I had the Tesseract already, and retrieved the scepter right after it had been taken from me in New York. The Eye of Agamotto was more of a challenge, but I was able to best the Ancient One in combat. The Aether was easy, I simply took it. The Power Stone was given to me by Thanos’s daughters in return for slaying the Titan.”

 

“But you weren’t able to get the Soul Stone.”

 

“No.” Loki shook his head “I would never have made that sacrifice, but the option was… off the table.” The god spared a thought for the child who now bore the Soul Stone, whose love had sacrificed himself so that their world might be saved.

 

“You killed Thanos?”

 

“I did.”

 

“But why? Why did you go to all the trouble? It wasn't just for power.”

 

“I… It was to avenge my love. I told you he’d been killed by another incarnation of myself. I couldn’t trace them with just the Tesseract. I needed more power.”

 

“But…”

 

“Once I traced them, I couldn't go through with my plan. I couldn't kill another incarnation of you. I couldn't take his happiness.”

 

“But… if this other version of you killed me. Him. Your husband. Didn't he… wasn't that version… wasn't that Loki… hadn’t that Loki… gone bad?”

 

Loki too a moment to parse that sentence. “Ah. No. He was defending his own Tom from what I'm certain looked like a lethal attack. It was… a misunderstanding. My poor love was quite broken by that point, though I adored him still.”

 

Tom massaged his temples with scarred fingers. “This is giving me a headache.”

 

“I am sorry.”

 

“I don't even know if… if our experiences are alike. How can you be so…” He gazed at Loki, mouth open. “So the same. And so different.” He reached out and cupped Loki’s cheek. “I’ve missed you so much, and here you are, but... not.”

 

Loki leaned into the hand on his skin; it was paradise to be touched so. Perhaps he could explain? “The man I fell in love with was an actor who tried to do the right thing. To protect his world without using violence. To make the realm better with compassion. He saw me for who I was, not my past acts, or how I was perceived by my family, or even by the mortals around us. He saw Loki the person, not the prince or the king or the general, not even the magician. Me, Loki.” He took a deep breath. “He accepted me for who and what I am. And that was… everything. I fell in love with his compassion as well as his beauty. I stood by him even when madness came for him; took his soul with our daughter's life.” Loki nuzzled the hand on his face. He wanted to turn just a little more and pressing his lips to Tom's scarred palm, but held himself back. “If you see me that way… then that is enough. What you have done, what you may do, that means nothing to me. I care not at all that madness came for you as well. I wish to see you for who you are.”

 

Tom stared at him. “For who I am?”

 

The god nodded. “Not who you were, or how you might compare to my husband, who you are right now.”

 

Tom made a soft, slightly strangled sound in the back of his throat. “Loki…” He leaned in, just a little. His lips were an inch from the god’s. Loki tilted his head, an invitation, but left the last centimeter for Tom to cross if he wished. The mortal brought his other hand up and cradled Loki’s face between them; he could feel the scars that laced Tom's palms against his cheeks.

 

“May I kiss you?” The words were whispered, more felt than heard.

 

A thousand replies filled Loki’s head, but he responded as simply as he could. “Yes.”

 

Tom closed the final distance and their lips met. Warm and soft. Familiar, but not at all the same. A simple press of lips, chaste, but full of emotion. Loki let out a tiny noise that was almost whimper. He wanted to dive into the kiss, deepen it so that he could taste the mortal’s mouth, lick his way inside, feel his heat. But he stayed as passive as he could and still respond, let Tom guide them. One soft kiss, then another. And another. The mortal pulled away after the third kiss and looked into Loki’s eyes.

 

“Good?”

 

“Wonderful.” Loki brought his arms up and wrapped them around Tom’s shoulders. “An excellent beginning.”

 

Tom smiled and kissed him again. This time, he brushed his tongue across Loki’s lower lip. A request, one that Loki was more than happy to fulfill. The god opened his mouth as Tom licked his way inside. He tasted like tea, like sunshine, like he always had. Loki dove into the kiss, tangled his tongue with the human’s. Savored every second. He couldn’t help but moan at the glorious, liquid sensations that flooded his body. One of Tom’s hands slid up into his hair again, scarred fingers threading through black locks. The other hand came down to Loki’s chest and gripped his shirt, as though he was afraid that Loki might try and escape. The god had no intention of leaving this splendid embrace, so he tightened his arms around the human’s form.  

 

The kiss lasted for an eternity, until Tom pulled away to breathe. He leaned his forehead against Loki’s. “I haven’t kiss anyone in a long time.”

 

“Mmm… Your skills seem not to have suffered from lack of use.”

 

Tom laughed and Loki smiled. It was the same laugh he’d heard a hundred-thousand times from his own version of the human. It was folly to compare them, but how could he not? Loki brought a hand up to cup Tom's jaw and ran his thumb through his beard. That was different; longer, softer. Loki pulled him forward with a gentle hand and reignited the kiss. This time he took the initiative, licked his way into the human’s mouth, explored every millimeter with his tongue. Tom groaned and pulled him closer. The hand balled in Loki’s shirt let go and slid down to his hip. The god made a tiny, needy noise against the mortal's lips.

 

Tom pulled away again. “What do you want?”

 

“Anything you wish to give me.”

 

“That’s not an answer.”

 

“It’s the truth.”

 

“And if I said that kissing was all I wanted?”

 

“Then I would kiss you forever.”

 

Tom chuckled and placed a small kiss on the corner of god’s mouth, then spoke against his lips. “And if I wanted to fuck you?”

 

Loki’s breath caught. “I would say ‘yes please.’”

 

“And if I wanted you to fuck me?”

 

He grinned. “For how long and how hard?”

 

Tom moaned and pulled Loki against him fully, hips pressed together. Loki gasped as their erections rubbed against one another. He allowed himself to finally take hold of Tom’s arse, pull him even closer. The mortal groaned and slid his own hands down as well. His head fell back, exposing a long line of throat. Loki took that as an invitation and ran his tongue over the bare, perfect skin. Tom whined and squirmed against him.

 

Loki nipped at his neck. “Is this what you want?”

 

“Oh god, yes. I’ve wanted you for so long.” Tom looked up. His eyes were a thin ring of blue around lust blown pupils. “I need… I need you to touch me. I need to know that you’re real. That _I’m_ real. That you’re here with me, not just in my head.”

 

Loki bit his lip. Those words told him something that Tom hadn’t said up until now: that he feared he might still be mad. It explained a great deal. Loki ran his hands up Tom’s back, along his neck, into his hair. “I’m here.” Kissed his cheeks, his neck, bit down oh so gently on his shoulder muscles. “I’m real.” Kissed down his shoulder, to his arm. Kissed a long line down to his hand.

 

“Don’t…” Tom pulled his hand away.

 

“Does it hurt?”

 

“No… I just… I don’t want you to…”

 

Loki cradled the damaged appendage in his hands. “If you do not wish me to, I shall not, but I don’t see your scars as lesser. You are still beautiful in my eyes.”

 

Tom shook his head. “It’s… I don’t want to be reminded of that time.”

 

“Ah.” Loki brought Tom’s hand up so that the palm rested against his own cheek. “Perhaps I can help make new memories?” Loki turned his face inward and kissed his palm as he'd been desperate to do before. “More pleasant ones?”

 

Tom nodded, it was uncertain, but it was a nod. Loki kissed his palm again, then ran his tongue over the webbing between thumb and fingers. He watched Tom’s face, saw the mortal’s eyelids flutter, his mouth fall open. He repeated the gesture with a quick flick of his tongue. Tom opened his eyes again and brushed his thumb over Loki’s lips. The god parted them ever so slightly, and Tom slipped his thumb into Loki’s mouth. He licked the pad, felt the smooth scars with his tongue. Tom gasped and closed his eyes. Loki sucked, flirted his tongue along the mortal’s thumb, a clear parody of something rather more intimate.

 

“Oh god.” Tom pulled his hand away and tugged him back into a kiss. This kiss was hungry, like the mortal was trying to devour Loki’s mouth. He ground their hips together, erections pressed together through too much cloth. Loki whined at that heat, so close and yet so far. They kissed and rubbed against one another. Loki moaned against the other’s lips, ran his hands along back and arse, neck and hair. Tom kept one hand on the god’s arse, keeping him close, while the other hand roamed.

 

Loki slipped his hands up under Tom’s shirt, fingertips teasing his skin. He pulled out of the kiss just enough to speak. “Is this alright?”

 

Tom nodded and kissed him again. “Please. Touch me. Let me feel you on my skin.”

 

Loki moaned and ran his hands up and down the mortal’s back, smooth and hot under his fingers. A moment later, Tom whined and stepped away.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Too much cloth.” Tom pulled the rough cotton tunic up over his head. Loki stared. Tom was wiry, thin, but well muscled. He saw that the scars went up to his elbows, then stopped. Now that the tunic was out of the way, he could easily see the other’s arousal through the cotton trousers.

 

“Beautiful.”

 

The mortal grinned, stepped forward, and tugged on Loki’s tunic. “May I?”

 

“Please.”

 

The tunic was stripped away and tossed aside. Tom’s eyes scanned over Loki’s nude torso, a small smile on his lips. He stepped forward, pulled the god back into a kiss. Ran his hands up Loki’s chest, teased his nipples into hard peaks. Loki moaned against his lips and mirrored the gesture. Tom tipped his head back and groaned and Loki licked down his neck to his chest. Ran his tongue over his nipples, then kissed his way down. He paused and looked up, hand hovering over the waistband of the cotton trousers.

 

“I want to taste you.”

 

Tom looked down. “Oh god, yes. I just… I won’t last long if you do.”

 

Loki grinned. “I’ll live with that.” With a deft movement, he pulled the trousers down, freeing Tom’s erection. Loki sank to his knees and swallowed him down. It had been a long time since he’d done this, but it wasn’t the sort of skill one forgot, and Loki had earned the name “silvertongue” in more ways than one.

 

Hot flesh in his mouth, earthy and slightly acrid. Loki ran his tongue along the bottom of Tom’s cock, fluttered the tip through the folds of skin around the head. Sucked him down again. Tom groaned. He tightened one hand on Loki’s shoulder while the other went into his hair. Neither hand attempted to constrain the god’s movements, or even guide them. Loki almost wished he would. Grab his hair and just fuck his mouth, but the mortal - at least this version of him in this moment - was too much a gentleman to do that.

 

Loki let his lips grow wet, sliding up and down, brushing his tongue in patterns along the underside of the hot, hard shaft in his mouth. Wrapped his tongue around in a way that no human could do.

 

“Oh god, oh god, oh Loki… I’m so… please…”

 

He was close, Loki could tell. Tom’s hips twitched, like he was keeping himself from thrusting, and the taste of him grew more acrid. Loki squeezed his own aching cock through his trousers, just for a touch of relief, and sped up the pace with his mouth. He looked up. Tom’s eyes were closed, his mouth open, a look of tortured pleasure on his face.

 

“Pleasepleaseplease, oh god, I’m so close, please… aaaaahhhh!” The cry spiralled up into a shout, and then a scream of pure extacy. Loki’s mouth was flooded with bitter salt, which he swallowed down.

 

Tom’s knees gave out and he collapsed into Loki’s arms. He hadn’t expected that, but the god caught and held him easily. Loki lowered the mortal to the ground. He knelt in front of Loki, head resting on the god’s shoulder, just breathing.

 

Loki bit his lip and wrapped his arms around Tom’s shoulders. He ached to be touched, but he could wait. For a little while.

 

After what felt like hours, but was probably less than a minute, Tom sat up and looked at Loki. “You’re amazing.”

 

The god smiled. “Silvertongue.”

 

Tom laughed, then leaned in to kiss him. “A well earned moniker.”

 

Loki chuckled.

 

“What about you?” Tom glanced down at Loki’s prominently tented trousers.

 

“I would be happy with whatever reciprocation you are able to provide.” He pulled Tom into another kiss. “I’ve had quite enough of my own hand.”

 

Tom laughed. “Can you conjure us a blanket?” Loki pulled a large blanket out of his pocket dimension and spread it out on the ground. Tom shifted so he sat on it, and pulled Loki down with him. “Get rid of these.” He tugged on the trousers, which Loki vanished. Tom chuckled, then ran his hand along Loki’s now-bare leg and hip.

 

The god lay back on the blanket and let the mortal touch him as he willed. The feel of scarred fingers on his body was glorious. He was so hard that he ached, but Tom touched him everywhere but his cock. On the third near-miss, he whined. On the forth, he started to beg. “Please touch me.”

 

“I am touching you.” There was laughter in Tom’s voice.

 

Loki squirmed and whined. “Please!”

 

Tom shifted forward so that he lay along Loki’s side, head propped up with one hand, looking down at the god. He was half-hard, pressed against Loki’s hip and thigh. “Is this better?”

 

“It… it is, but please…” A fingertip brushed along his length, from base to to head. “Aaahh! Yes, that, more.”

 

A large hand wrapped around his length and squeezed. Loki moaned and relaxed. “Yesss,” he hissed the word and Tom stroked him up and down with a slow, steady hand. His cock had been weeping pre-come for long enough that there was plenty of lubrication for the moment, making the glide easier. Up, squeeze, down, then up again. Tom massaged his thumb against the crown of Loki’s cock and he moaned. “More.”

 

Tom’s hand took up a steady, slow rhythm. “You’re so beautiful like this.” He kissed Loki’s trembling lips. “I love that I can take you apart, just like you can take me apart. A god under the hands of a mortal.”

 

Loki keened and bucked his hips up. He was so close. “Faster, please.”

 

“Are you getting close for me?”

 

“Oh Norns, yes, so close.”

 

The hand on his cock sped up and Loki arched his back. “Yes. That’s perfect…” Faster yet. “Aaaaahhh.”

 

“Are you going to come for me?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Do it. Come for me now.”

 

Loki came screaming. Painted them both in white stripes. Tom’s hand slowed and carried him through a couple of aftershocks, and Loki collapsed, breathing hard. Tom kissed his temple and Loki nuzzled into the embrace. “That's even sexier than I remembered.”

 

Loki gave a tried chuckle. “To be fair, it’s been quite some time for both of us.”

 

“True.”

 

“And we're in a unique situation.”

 

“More than one, I suspect.”

 

“Likely, though in an infinite multiverse…”

 

“Shush, don't bring up the multiverse during afterglow.”

 

Loki chuckled. “As you wish.”

 

Tom yawned, and Loki mirrored him.

 

“Can we sleep now?”

 

“Mmmm.”

 

“Good.”

 

Loki conjured another blanket and draped it over them both with a tiny tweak of magic. They settled into one another, and slept.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

It was something of a relief to wake up not bound to the earth by flowers. If Loki had been thinking earlier, he would have teleported them back to his cabin. However, he hadn’t been thinking anything beyond “finally!” and “yes!”, so they still lay in the flower-filled field. He shifted against the mortal in his arms, revelled in the feel of a living, breathing being pressed against his skin. Not just another being, but _Tom_ slept in his embrace. Not his king, no, but that was fine. His husband was dead, and had told Loki to do this; to find another incarnation who needed him, and he’d done so. After months and months of silent courtship, the human was in his arms. It was intoxicating.

 

He pulled Tom a little closer and kissed his shoulder. The mortal was still asleep, breathing softly, but he stirred against Loki’s chest, cuddling closer. Rather than wake him up, which was very tempting, Loki pulled on the power of the Tesseract from its place in his pocket dimension and teleported them back to his cabin, blankets and all.

 

The wards on the tiny room were broken. Loki sat up and scanned the area, instantly alert. The box that held his clothing was open, his armor pulled out and draped over the side, but that appeared to be the only thing out of place. A faint psychic signature clung to what was left of his wards. It was Tom’s. Loki looked down at the sleeping mortal. Not only had the human come looking for him, he’d been able to destroy the wards that should have kept any magic user out of his personal space, and dissuaded non-magical beings from even wanting to enter. Loki lay a hand over Tom’s forehead to try and feel out what the human was capable of, but encountered a smooth psychic wall. He could likely break it - even without the Mind Stone - but that would hardly be a friendly move.

 

Tom stirred against him, finally waking up. He rolled onto his back, looked up at Loki and smiled. “Good morning.”

 

The god returned the smile. “Good morning.”

 

He watched as Tom looked around, taking in the cabin. “You can teleport?”

 

“Using the Tesseract, yes.”

 

“Useful.”

 

Loki chuckled. “Very.” He leaned down and placed a small kiss on Tom’s lips. “You came here looking for me?”

 

He nodded. “When you didn’t come back… I didn’t see you for two days, and I thought you’d left.” Tom’s voice hitched. “I was worried. I thought… I thought I’d driven you away somehow or that something must be wrong, so I came here. When I saw that your protections were still intact, and that your armor was still here, I realized that something _was_ wrong, so I went looking for you.”

 

“How did you break my wards?” Admittedly, they weren’t the strongest protections Loki was capable of, but still, a mortal sorcerer should’ve had difficulty with them.

 

Tom shrugged. “I just pushed my way through. It was like they wanted to let me in.”

 

Loki thought for a moment. “It’s possible that they identified you as me, then recognized partway through that you weren’t.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“May I examine your capabilities?”

 

Tom raised a questioning eyebrow. “What would that entail?”

 

“I wish to look beyond the shield that protects your mind, to understand what magics you have.”

 

“Are you…” Tom hesitated. “Before… When my…” He took a deep breath. “I was linked to my… my original Loki. A psychic bond that he put in place when we first met, so that he could find me again.”

 

Loki raised his eyebrows. “Really?” To do such a thing with a mortal would be very unusual. That combined with an interdimensional affinity could create some very interesting effects, and might explain why the human had suffered so badly in his lover’s absence.

 

Tom nodded. “It was suggested that when he left, it damaged my mind.”

 

“That’s very likely.” If such a bond were broken hastily - by death, or under duress - it would cause damage to either or both parties. “If not dismantled carefully, it very well could harm you.” If the mortal had been part of a poorly broken psychic bonding, the pain would have been excruciating.

 

“I can still feel it.” Tom rubbed the back of his head. “For a long time I was in constant pain, but now it’s just a little uncomfortable.”

 

Loki bit his lip. “I can see if I can help. I do have the Mind Stone, after all. Or…” He trailed off.

 

“Or?”

 

“I may be wrong, but putting another bond its place would likely heal you completely.” He brushed his fingers through the mortal’s hair. Loki had always loved the feel of Tom’s curls wrapping themselves around his fingers. “But it would leave you vulnerable, were I to be killed.”

 

Tom’s mouth dropped open. “You… you want to link us?”

 

“If that’s something you want.”

 

“Would it be like it was?”

 

Loki frowned. “Not knowing how it was, I cannot say, but it seems likely.”

 

“Every time we touched, our magic connected, like a circuit. It… it felt amazing.”

 

Loki shivered, remembering the feel of his king’s magic on his skin. He filled one hand with a small amount of seidr, tuning it to be pleasurable rather than painful.  “Like this?” Loki traced his fingers over Tom’s chest. The magic soaked into the mortal’s form like water into a dry sponge.

 

Tom’s mouth dropped open and he gasped. “Oh yes, like that.” He reached up and cupped Loki’s cheek.

 

A small trickle of seidr passed into Loki’s skin like a brush of the softest fur. The god felt the energy flow through him, and indeed, it created a circuit. Power flowed from himself to Tom, and back, over and over. Loki moaned and leaned down to kiss the mortal. It created another point of contact for the power to flow, and seidr poured through their lips. It wasn’t quite like the purposeful use of magic for pleasure that he’d done in the past. This required less effort; once the circuit began, it simply kept going.

 

Tom pulled him down so that Loki was pressed along his side. The long line where their bodies touched hummed with magic. It was exquisite.

 

Loki had just enough presence of mind to put up an auditory shield over the cabin before he was swept away.

 

o0o

 

They missed breakfast. Making love in Loki’s cabin seemed like a fair trade off for food. However, Loki hadn’t eaten in three days - and Tom had missed two meals - so they did go to lunch. They walked from the god’s cabin at the edge of the compound to the hall side by side, fingers tangled together. Everyone smiled at them knowingly. Their behavior was a striking change, since they’d barely looked at one another since Loki’s arrival. He saw no judgement in anyone’s eyes, only approval. Either this version of Midgard was less hostile towards same-sex pairings than the one he ruled, or this was a particularly progressive group.

 

He and Tom sat side by side, legs pressed together under the table. Neither spoke, as was the custom, but they communicated easily with looks and gestures. It was effortless. Loki would have suspected that they had inadvertently bonded, but decades of familiarity with the dimensional twin of the man who was now his lover explained their easy communication, at least from Loki’s perspective.

 

It was odd to think that he’d experienced fifty years of life with a human virtually identical to the man by his side. If what Loki had theorized about the multiverse was accurate, they had lived an identical life up until a specific point, then diverged, creating another universe. That point of divergence could have been anything, though Loki suspected that it might have something to do with his arrival on Midgard. This version of Tom _had_ been an actor, had met and fallen in love with a Loki who was very like the character he’d played. In his meandering through the multiverse, Loki had encountered Toms who weren’t actors and Lokis who were entirely different from himself, so that wasn’t inevitable.

 

After lunch, they held a silent conversation, then went back to the cabin.

 

Tom dropped down to sit on Loki’s bed. “So, now what?”

 

That question had very much been on Loki’s mind as well. “I don’t know. We can do anything we like, really.”

 

“Anything?”

 

Loki leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. “Virtually. I don’t have literally unlimited power, but unless you want to change the whole universe at once, what power I do have should suffice.”

 

Tom’s eyebrows went up. “Why aren’t you off ruling the universe somewhere?”

 

Loki smiled. “I was lonely.”

 

Tom smiled back. “That’s sweet.”

 

“It’s entirely the truth.”

 

“Do you _want_ to go rule the universe?”

 

The god shrugged. “Ruling requires a great deal of work and is, in general, a thankless job. Having controlled a planet, I imagine that ruling the whole universe would be much worse, despite the additional power of five infinity stones.”

 

Tom chuckled. “So no world domination?”

 

“Not anymore. Unless you have a secret desire to take over?”

 

Tom shook his head, much to Loki’s relief.

 

“What would you like to do? We can certainly stay here.”

 

“Which here? This planet or at the monastery?”

 

“Either. Though I admit I rather enjoy hearing your voice on a regular basis.”

 

Tom laughed. “Likewise.” He reached out a hand to Loki. “Come here. I’m tired of not touching you.”

 

Loki grinned, traveled the two step to the bed, took Tom’s hand, and settled down beside him. “I agree completely.”

 

Tom kissed him. “Then why were you over there?”  

 

“Because you’re entirely too distracting.”

 

“Mmm, that’s fair.” Another kiss. “Don’t you like being distracted?”

 

“Very much, but we were trying to make plans.”

 

Another kiss. “True.” Tom sat back, but kept holding onto Loki’s hand. “Alright, I’ll attempt to not be distracting.”

 

“You’ve already failed at that.”

 

Tom laughed. “Do you have anything you particularly want to do?”

 

“Make love to you on every planet in the universe?”

 

“That would take a rather long time.”

 

“Alright, just the habitable ones.”

 

“Still a very long time.”

 

Loki grinned and leaned in for another kiss. “It would be completely worth it.”

 

Tom pulled away, a frown creasing his features. “How did your husband live for so long?”

 

“Ah.” Loki traced a finger along one of the scars on the back of Tom’s hand. “I used the Tesseract to enhance him. I don’t suggest that as an option.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It’s extremely painful, and has some… side effects.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“He became more aggressive, more prone to anger.”

 

“Oh.” Tom put his hand over Loki’s. “I’m forty-two years old, Loki. I’ll only live for another four or five decades, and I’ll hardly be in my prime for most of them.”

 

The god nodded. “I know. We have many options, if you wish to prolong your life.”

 

“If _I_ want to?”

 

“I cannot make that choice for you.” Loki looked up from their joined hands. “If you would prefer to live a normal human lifespan, I understand that entirely. I would mourn you, but… I accept that immortality is… not for everyone.”  

 

“What kind of options are we talking about?”

 

“In the future of your planet, there will be treatments to prolong a human life. Other places in the galaxy have similar options. We could likely find a magical option, or I could even experiment with the other Stones.” Loki bit his lip and gazed into Tom’s eyes. “Had you… discussed this previously?”

 

Tom shook his head. “We never got that far. I thought about it, of course, and I’m sure he did too, but…” He sighed. “We were so focused on having just found one another and enjoying that, we never… we didn’t plan, we just _did.”_ He ran a hand over his face. “I should have…”

 

“No, please don’t go down that road. We’re both wiser now that our previous selves were.” Loki cupped Tom’s cheek and pulled his gaze up. “We’ve both suffered a great deal and learned from that. We’re together. Not again, but for the first time. Yes, in the past, I loved a man with your name and your face, but…” Loki leaned his forehead against Tom’s. “You are not that man. You are your own self. I am my own self, not the god you knew, who left you. Our previous lovers are gone, this is something new.”

 

“Loki…” Tom pulled him into a kiss. “It’s hard to remember that. I wish I knew where the differences lay.”

 

“Short of going through our lives day by day, that would be very difficult. It might be best if we simply assumed that nothing is the same. Get to know one another anew.”

 

Tom nodded. “You’re probably right.” He kissed Loki again. “I would love to travel with you. When… when I was with… with…” He laughed. “I was going to say ‘my Loki’, but you’re mine now.”

 

The god grinned. “I’m very happy to hear you say that.”

 

Tom smiled in return. “In my previous relationship, we travelled to other dimensions together using the Tesseract. We went to dimensions where there was a different version of one of us, or in some cases, both of us. It was great fun.”

 

Loki pursed his lips and thought a moment. “We could do something similar. We could go anywhere in space or time, different dimensions, if you’d like. With the Tesseract and the Eye of Agamotto, virtually any travel is possible.”

 

Tom’s eyes lit. “It’s like having our own TARDIS.”

 

Loki laughed. “Very like, yes.”

 

“You’ve actually watched _Doctor Who?”_

 

“Of course. I could hardly spend fifty years with a fan without watching it.”

 

Tom let out a laugh that could only be described as a giggle, and threw himself at Loki. “I can’t express how happy that makes me.”

 

Loki chuckled into the mortal’s hair. “I’ve seen episodes you haven’t.”

 

“No spoilers!”

 

Loki laughed and held Tom close. If he hadn’t already been in love, he would have fallen right then.

 

o0o

 

After supper, they approached the old woman who was in charge of the complex.

 

She spoke before either of them could. “You’re both leaving.”

 

Loki nodded. “We may return to visit, but it’s time to move on.”

 

She smiled at them. “I’m glad you finally found one another.”

 

Loki looked over at Tom, who was looking at him. They both smiled. Tom looked back at her. “Thank you for everything.”

 

She bowed to them. “You are both welcome here whenever you may choose to visit.”

 

They bowed to her in return, then walked back to Tom’s cabin. It was identical to Loki’s, though the bedding was a different color.

 

“I don’t have much that I want to bring with me.” He dug into the box at the foot of the bed. “Somehow I’ve lost the desire to have a lot of material objects.”

 

“Surely you have books?”

 

Tom grinned up at him and pulled out a thick paperback book. “A few.” He tossed the copy of _The Complete Works of Shakespeare_ on the bed. “Is there space in your pocket dimension for a few things?”

 

“Certainly.” Loki sat on the bed and riffled through the book. Pressed between two pages at the center was a flattened splay of dried flowers. Loki picked the blue, red, and violet blossoms up between forefinger and thumb. “You kept them.”

 

Tom looked up from the box, and smiled. “Of course I did.”

 

The god smiled back. “I didn’t think you would.”

 

Tom came over and kissed him. He took the flowers from Loki and held them up. “These were the first birthday gift I’d gotten in five years. Besides, you gave them to me.”

 

Loki’s smile widened.  “I’m glad. I wasn’t sure when I gave them to you; you might have seen it as intrusive for me to give you a gift.”

 

Tom shook his head. “By then I was… coming around. I realized that I wasn’t really upset with _you,_ just…” He put the flowers back inside the book and set it aside. “When I saw you the first time, I thought… I thought you were the same Loki who I’d been with before. That you’d finally found a way to get back to me.” He looked into Loki’s eyes, tears in the corners of his own. “When I realized you weren’t, and that you hadn’t even been looking for me… That hurt. And I was already upset with him for leaving me in the first place, and with myself for… well, everything.” He took one of Loki’s hands and ran a scarred finger over the back of Loki’s hand, along the bones. “When I thought about for a while, I realized that I wasn’t angry at _you._ You were blameless for the pain I’d gone through. And here I was, refusing to even look at you, when you hadn’t done anything to me. You respected my wishes and left me alone, but made it clear that you _were_ there if I wanted.” Tom shook his head. “I kept… I kept thinking that I should talk to you, let you know that I… That I wanted more, but it was so hard.”  

 

“I understand.”

 

“I know you do. I appreciate it.”

 

Loki smiled. “I’m glad you decided to come find me.”

 

Tom returned the smile. “Me too.” He reached out and pulled Loki into a kiss, only to move away again a moment later, to the god’s frustration.  “We should try not to get too distracted.”

 

“If you insist.”

 

Tom chuckled and got to his feet again. He knelt by the box and pulled out a few more books and set them on the bed. Loki picked them up, then vanished them. Although the editions were different, his husband had had all of the same books. “We can always acquire new books, if you wish.”

 

Tom nodded. “Mmmm. I might need some new clothes as well.” He pulled out a pair of jeans, a blue button down shirt, and a pair of gray boots.

 

Loki’s heart cracked just a little at the sight of those boots. “Whatever you need.”

 

Tom looked over his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

 

Loki pointed to the pile of clothes. “They’re the same.”

 

“Oh.” The human sat heavily on the bed. “Sorry.”

 

“Having the same taste as yourself is hardly a thing you need apologize for.”

 

“When you put it like that…”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Tom sighed and stripped off his tunic and trousers and put on the clothes from the box. “I’m not sure if these still suit me anyway.” He pulled on the waistband of the jeans. “They’re a little big, which is odd. I didn’t think I’d lost any weight since I got here.”

 

“You’ve been burning energy by means other than physical activity. That tends to be subtle.” Loki gazed at the terribly familiar figure in front of him. “Is there anything else you need?”

 

“A haircut?” He ran a hand through his mass of curls. “I think I need that done professionally. Later though.” He looked around the room. “I think I’ve got everything. What about you?”

 

Loki summoned his armor to his body, returning the plain cotton trousers and tunic to the box in his old quarters. Tom gave him a long, lingering look. “I think I’m glad that’s new armor. It's rather elegant. I like the solid black look.”

 

Loki grinned. “I’m not sure this still suits me.” He ran a hand down his side to his hip.

 

Tom’s gaze followed the pale hand’s progress with interest. “It’s rather sexy.”

 

Loki closed the small distance between them and pulled Tom into a kiss. “Then if nothing else, I should give you the chance to take it off me before I replace it.”

 

“Good idea.” Tom ran his hands over Loki’s sides. “Black is certainly your color.”

 

Loki grinned and pulled him into another kiss. “I have an idea of where we should go next.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“There’s a lovely spot in Alfheim. Beautiful, remote.” He nuzzled against Tom’s neck and lay a kiss on his pulse point. “We wouldn’t be disturbed. Nobody goes there.”

 

“That sounds...” The human gasped as Loki’s teeth came down on the point where neck and shoulder met again. “Perfect.”

 

“Excellent.” He nibbled up to Tom’s ear. “Now I just need to find a universe where nobody wants to kill me on Alfheim.”

 

Tom laughed. “Naturally.”  

 

“Though that might prove rather difficult.”

 

“Why am I not surprised?”

 

“Because you know me extremely well?”

 

Tom smiled. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

 

Loki returned the smile. “Are you ready?”

 

He nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

 

“Then let’s go see the multiverse.” Loki pulled Tom tight to his chest and they teleported away.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they lived happily ever after... 
> 
> I'm sure they'll get into trouble at some point, but I'm certainly not going to torment them anymore. 
> 
> I actually joked to myself and my beta that "Mad Tom" and "King Loki" should end up together months ago, and here they are! 
> 
> Also "King Loki's Happy Ending" is clearly a skeezy men only massage parlor.


End file.
